The Kidnapping That Never Happened
by Caffeine Induced
Summary: A short story about Red-X and Raven.
1. Part 1 of 4

The Teen Titans have never received more than one crime alert at a time, certainly not five. Tonight is the night.

The teens gather around the large screen in their livingroom, shocked at this development, but not deterred.

"One for each of us," Beastboy says, rubbing his hands together.

"That's convenient," Robin says.

Raven frowns at him. He's always so suspicious of everything. "It's just a coincidence."

"I don't like it," he insists. "Something reeks."

"That would be BB's socks," Cyborg says. "He hasn't changed them in four weeks."

"Will we not be going to aid our fellow peoples?" Starfire asks, growing impatient. "Time is the essence."

"Of course we're going." Robin shuts off the alarm blaring loudly throughout the house. "I'll check on the Red-X sighting. Beastboy, Jinks is causing trouble at the mall again. Starfire, go out to the bridge and see what caused the pile up. Cyborg I want you at that news station, and see if the bomb threat is real or not. Raven I want you to see what's going on at the suburbs where there's been complaints."

The Titans nods, their faces ready for their assigned tasks, except for Raven who keeps her face neutral.

"Titans, go!"

They break away from each other, each flying--or in Robin's case, running--to get to their assigned tasks.

For her part, Raven flies out the window behind Starfire and makes her way to the quiet suburban neighborhood where several people have called the police to report someone throwing bricks at their windows.

It's probably just a bunch of kids messing around so Raven calmly walks down the streets, expecting the culprits to be long gone, maybe giggling in a bush in someone's back yard.

A rock bounces off the sidewalk behind her. She turns just as another hits the back of her head.

"Look kid," she growls, stopping suddenly.

Red-X drops his handful of pebbles and chuckles. "Looks like you got me red handed."

He makes no move for his utility belt but Raven falls into her fighting stance anyway. "Robin will be sorry he missed you."

"Ah, Robin. He's so predictable. If he can spare a woman danger he'll do it. Not his fault, just the good manners he was raised with. Doesn't hurt that he's got a soft spot for you though."

"Are you going to start monologueing? If so, I think I'll just start fighting you now."

Red-X hold his hands out, wrists together. "No need, I surrender. Lock me up and throw away the key."

Raven scoffs, not caring if he has ulterior motives. She reaches out for him but with lightening fast reflexes he grabs her hand and slaps something onto her wrist.

She pulls away and tries to grab the metal bracelet he just put on her but it immediately absorbes into her skin, leaving a thin black line in its place.

More concerning is the invisible weight she feels settle into her bones.

"What the hell was that?" she demands, rubbing her wrist.

"Can I monologue now? See, I staged all those false alarms to get your pesky team mates away from you. I've got someone willing to pay very big money for you. Sorry, Sunshine, but you're coming with me."

Raven lashes her hand out--intending to send him flying backwards into a minivan--but nothing happens. Her powers have been neutralized.

She can feel the smirk behind Red-X's mask. "Don't bother," he says. "No more magic for you. That little trinket makes you about as dangerous as a toddler. "

Raven punches him in the face.

She recalls her vigorous lessons from Robin and follows the left hook with a round house kick. X stumbles but quickly bounces back and catches her fist before it hits its mark again. He twists her arm, forcing her to spin around only for her to find herself pinned against him, her shoulder threatening to pop out of place.

"Okay, didn't see that coming. Nice try but the result is still the same."

She doesn't make it easy for him to get her to the nondescript car he has waiting on standby but he gets her there nonetheless. After tossing her into the back seat he ties her hands to the handle beside the window and ties her ankles together.

"Safety first," he chimes, clicking her seat belt.

"Fuck you," she replies, and then she head buts him hard enough to knock anyone unconcious--anyone not wearing a reinforced mask, that is.

For his own sanity he also tapes her mouth in order to put a stop to the string of curses and vivid threats she's giving him.

She's got a twisted imagination, he decides.

He plucks her communicator from her belt when it rings and she tries to kick him but he dances out of reach. "You won't be needing this anytime soon. What do you say we get out of here? I'll bet your friends have figured out something's up by now."

He tosses her communicator into the bushes and slides into the drives seat, smirking at the fiery glare trying to burn a hole through the back of his head.


	2. Part 2 of 4

It's embarassing to admit, but Raven has experienced plenty of kidnappings before this one.

Most of them happened before she was even a hero, like when her father kidnapped her and took her to hell, or when Brother Blood kidnapped her and claimed Trigon had given her to him for his loyalty.

So as kidnappings go, this one is underwhelming. Red-X may have a high-tech suit and fighting skills that rival Robin, but his criminal habits are extremely ordinary.

After being kidnapped, he drives two cities away from Jump and gets a cheap motel room to stash her in.

She had hoped the clerk would see him lugging her up four flights of stairs but as it turns out, the clerk is paid to not see anything.

At one point she does manage to get free of Red-X but with her hands and feet bound she ends up falling hard to the floor and cutting her cheek on the railing.

"Okay, that was your fault," Red-X says, grabbing her elbows and pulling her so she's standing upright. "You're welcome to hop up the stairs."

She silently glares at him.

"That's what I thought."

He picks her up again. Instead of throwing her over his shoulder he carries her bridal style which she isn't sure is an improvement or not.

Once inside the room he takes her to the grungy bathroom and sets her down on the edge of the tub and rips the tape off her mouth.

"You can scream if you want," he says, "No one here is what you'dcall an upstanding member of society."

"I don't scream."

She can hear an innuendo on the tip of his tongue so she lift her knees slightly, "Untie my ankles."

He laughs. "No."

He grabs a washcloth from a little folded stack and gets it damp and crouches in front of her. He reaches up to her face but she pulls back.

"Are you particularly attached to your hand because that it a great way to have it removed."

"You're bleeding." He stands and tosses the cloth into her lap. "Do it yourself then, I can't deliver the merchandise damaged."

She glares at him again and wipes the trickle of blood off her cheek. "Who hired you?"

"Oh, thanks for reminding me." He disappears into the main room and returns just a quickly with a pair of handcuffs. "Don't get excited, but I need to head out."

He handcuffs her the exposed pipe under the sink and only then does he removed the rope binding her wrists which has become redundant.

"I'll be back in a bit sweetheart," he says. "I've got a few details to hash out with your buyer, nothing to bore you with. Behave while I'm gone."

He puts the key of the handcuffs into his belt and shuts the bathroom door behind him as he leaves. A few seconds later she hears the main door close too.

Raven waits five minutes to make sure he's really gone before she pulls the tape off her mouth and starts yanking on her cuffs only to be continually met with resistance.

She'll have to break the pipe then. With a bit of leverage and a high pain tolerance, she manages to do just that. She untied the rope around her ankles and stands, stretching.

The bathroom door is locked and is surprisingly solid. No way she'll be able to break it down. She turns her attention to the narrow bathroom window instead.

She's four floors up. Red-X probably never considered it a viable means of escape but he's only human. Raven breaks it and climbs out, jumping down onto solid asphalt and getting more than a few cuts and bruises.

She could go to the police but they can't do anything for her except unlock these stupid cuffs. Instead she goes not two blocks from the hide out to a tourist trap voodoo shop they drove past.

They had driven through the night and it's now early sunday morning but the shop is thankfully open.

The woman at the counter is dressed to the nines to fit her roll. The entire thing is very gimmicky but Raven knows magic when she sees it and this woman has some.

"Welcome to my house of magic and mystery. Careful what you touch dear, the allure of the dark arts doesn't let go once it's touched your soul."

Raven places her hands on the counter and slides the cuffs up to give the woman a good view of the line marking her wrist.

"Can you get this thing off?"

The woman drops her fiscade and examines the mark carefully. "Magic dampener?"

"It's surpressing my less than human nature aswell," Raven replies, all too aware of her injuries that are still throbbing.

"It's melded into your bone . . . How did it happen?"

"It was an artifact. A thin metal bracelet, silver I think. There were markings on it but I didn't get a good look at them. When the asshole clicked the bracelet shut it immediately sank into my skin."

"Wait here."

The woman goes to rummage around in the back and returns with a silver ribbon about twelve inches long. "Only the one who put the bracelet on you can bring it forth again. Have them tie this over the mark and it will come off."

Raven examines the ribbon. "There's no other way?"

The woman considers this and stares at her cuffed hands. "You could kill the person," she says in a sly but cautious tone.

A very tempting notion but ultimately not an option for a reformed half-demon. She'll have to force him to tie it on her wrist then. Easier said than done. Red-X has superior combat skills and she has no magic . . .

She'll have to play this smart, she decides, absently brushing her fingers over the cut on her cheek.

Of course she can always head back to the tower and have her friends help her capture Red-X and force him to do it but her pride won't let her go crawling back to the tower defeated. She's got a thirst for vengeance.

She leaves the woman her ruby belt and tells her to keep it as collateral until she can return with proper payment.

She leaves the shop and heads back the way she came, a plan already forming in her head. She's going to have to let herself get captured by Red-X.

Azar, she can already hear his smug laughter.


End file.
